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Abstract ENVIRONMENTAL GENOMICS OF COLD ADAPTATION Adam G. Marsh The under-ice environment places extreme selective pressures on polar marine invertebrates (sea urchins, starfish, clams, worms) in terms of the low temperature, oligotrophic waters and limited light availability. Free-swimming embryos and larvae face inordinate challenges of survival with almost non-existent food supplies establishing near starvation conditions at the thermal limits of cellular stress that would appear to require large energy reserves to overcome. Yet, despite the long developmental periods for which these embryos and larvae are adrift in the water column, the coastal under-ice habitats of the polar regions support a surprising degree of vibrant marine life. How can so many animals be adapted to live in such an extreme environment? We all recognize that environmental adaptations are coded in the DNA sequences that comprise a species genome. Environmental genomics attempts to unravel the specific imprint that adaptations to life in a polar habitat have left in the genome sequences of these animals. This work requires a unique integration of both field studies (under ice SCUBA diving and experiments) and laboratory work (genome sequencing and gene expression studies). Understanding the genetic mechanisms of cold adaptation is critical to our understanding of how these organisms will respond to potential future changes in their polar environments associated with global climate warming.
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